


An Unexpected Visitor

by CheezLord12



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Accountant AU, Food, M/M, Office, Slow Burn, football au, titles are the bane of my existence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 15,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28662468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheezLord12/pseuds/CheezLord12
Summary: Percy Weasley is an accountant stuck in an endless cycle of work, sleep, work, sleep. All of that changes when Oliver Wood, aspiring footballer, stumbles into his office.Slowish burn. Rated T for like three curse words that I accidentally put in there.
Relationships: Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood
Comments: 8
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this like six months ago but never posted it because editing is hard, but I finally got around to it so here it is:

"Good morning!" somebody chirped, walking into the building. The sound drifted into Percy Weasley's office and he shook his head a little. He'd already been at work for two hours, and people were only now starting to arrive to start their days.

He tried to block out the sounds of everyone else arriving, but he couldn't help the little tug of longing in his stomach.  _ You took on the extra clients. _ He reminded himself, shaking the traitorous thoughts out of his head.

He bent his head over the paper once again and got to work.

After 30 minutes of scribbling numbers, Percy decided to award himself with a break. He leaned back and stretched, rummaging in his drawers for a mint. Finally, he found one, buried under the folders. He grinned triumphantly, and popped it into his mouth.

He started to bend over his work once again, but was startled by someone loudly opening the door to his small office. He flinched hard, knocking over his pencil cup.

He looked up, rather annoyed, to see a man wearing a sheepish expression standing in his doorway.

"Sorry." he blurted. "Didn't mean to startle you!" he strode over, picking up the pencils and pens that had spilled across the floor and putting them back onto his desk.

He stuck his hand out to shake, and Percy took it awkwardly, shaking it.

"I'm Oliver Wood." he greeted happily. "Here for my appointment."

"Appointment?" Percy checked his calendar. He was meeting a single client after lunch, but he had no appointments until then.

Wood's smile faded a little. "I scheduled it with your secretary, Justin."

Percy was now thoroughly confused. "I don't have a secretary." he said. "I think you've got me confused with someone else. Who are you looking for?"

"Harry Potter, the sports agent." he said. "I was told he was in office 337."

Percy shook his head. "This is 338. He's right next door," Percy jerked his thumb towards the wall on his left.

Wood's eyes widened and he glanced at the wall. "Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry for interrupting you!" he backed out quickly, looking embarrassed.

_ That was strange.  _ thought Percy, putting the incident out of his mind quickly and starting to work again.

After another 20 minutes, he was interrupted again. He looked up, annoyed at being interrupted once again. He was only more annoyed when he saw that it was the same man. Before he could ask why he was being interrupted again, Wood spoke excitedly.

"Heagreedtorepresentmeohmygodcanyoubeiliveit!"

Percy blinked. "What?"

To Percy's utter amazement, Wood stepped into the room, practically jumping up and down. "Potter agreed to represent me! He said I could probably sign with Puddlmere!"

"I don't-" Percy tried to say. 

"I never would have thought, I mean, this has been my dream forever!"

Percy was appalled when Wood collapsed into the cushy chair across from Percy's desk.

"You know, I thought it was a prank call when he contacted me. I can't believe I almost blew it then!"

"Why are you-"

"Thank god I took it seriously, right?" he chuckled, finally stopping his tirade, looking at Percy expectantly.

"Right." said Percy nervously, trying to force a laugh out of his throat.

"Exactly!" said Wood, seemingly oblivious to Percy's discomfort.

"Can you imagine? Me, playing football for Puddlemere?" he laughed again.

Actually, Percy could. He had the right body for sports. Not that Percy cared or anything.

He cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm sure."

Wood just kept talking, motioning with his hands wildly. Percy soon realized that he was lost in his own world, and started working again, throwing out the occasional "yes" or "Mmmhmm"

Surprisingly, he found he didn't really mind the talking all that much.

Percy was so wrapped up in his work that he didn't even realize that Wood had become silent until a few minutes. He looked up and found that Wood was looking at him, head tilted slightly.

"Yes?" he asked. 

Wood sighed. "I was doing the thing, wasn't I?"

"What thing?" asked Percy. 

"The one where I talk for a very long time."

Percy nodded. "Well, yes, you were doing that thing."

Wood scrunched his face up sheepishly. "Sorry, I don't mean to. It just happens when I get very excited. Just can't help myself, you know?"

Percy, in fact, did not know. He had always been on the subdued side. But, he answered. "Yes, it's fine." anyway, smiling a little.

He stood up, still looking rather sheepish. "Sorry for interrupting you again." he muttered, backing out the door hurriedly and closing it behind him.

Percy sighed, a little relieved to be alone in his office once again.

He threw himself back into his work, stopping only for the lunch with his client.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Oliver still felt the residual embarrassment lingering in his stomach. He hadn't gotten that carried away since he was a kid, just completely barging in on someone. A cute someone, in this case. As he waited tables that day, he couldn't help but think about the redhead. He'd read the nameplate by his door, learning that his name was Percy Weasley and he was an accountant. No wonder he looked so stressed. 

Oliver tried to put it out of his mind, trying to focus on his job that hopefully, he wouldn't need to keep much longer.

The week passed, Oliver becoming more and more anxious as his second appointment with Harry Potter drew near. This was the moment of truth, when he would finally find out if Harry had managed to sign him with Pudllmere. As always, when he got nervous, he started to bake. That's how, when he arrived back at the building a week after he'd first been there, he was carrying a plate of cookies.

His intention was to just give them to Harry Potter, but as he drew near the office and saw he had a few extra minutes before his meeting, he changed his plan.

This time, when Oliver arrived in his room unannounced, Percy didn't even react.

"Welcome back." he muttered dryly.

"I swear, this time I have a legitimate reason to be here!" Oliver exclaimed, holding out the cookies.

Percy's eyes locked in on them and he froze, looking at them with passion in his eyes.

Oliver grinned and drew the plate back towards himself. "You only get them if you say you forgive me." he teased.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course I do now give me the damn cookies, Wood."

Oliver felt a little something in his chest when Percy used his name, but he pushed it away, finally ceding the cookies.

Percy started devouring them instantly, his work forgotten.

"These are excellent." he declared between bites. "Where did you get them?"

"I made them, actually" Oliver confided. "I would have made more if I'd known you were so very passionate about cookies."

Percy let out a small chuckle. "I'm usually not." he admitted. "I just haven't eaten anything today."

"What?" asked Oliver, aghast. "But it's nearly two!"

Percy shrugged. "Just got busy with work, I suppose."

Oliver couldn't imagine not eating. "No wonder you're so skinny." he said

"Nuh-uh." said Percy. "I was born this way. It's why I'm no good at sports."

Oliver was taken aback by how chatty Percy had become with the help of some food. "Still," he said. "You should eat properly. Don't work yourself to death."

Percy snorted. "Says the football player."

Oliver grinned. "Good one." He glanced at the clock, and seeing that he still had some time before his meeting, collapsed into the cushy chair again. He motioned at Percy to give him a cookie.

Percy looked like it made him sick, but he gave one up. Oliver didn't miss that it was the smallest one on the plate, but he found he didn't mind.

"So, Percy Weasley." he said. "Accountant. What got you into that job?"

"I see you finally read the nameplate." said Percy. "And to answer your question, my dad is an accountant. I've always been good at math so..." he shrugged.

Oliver found himself confused again. "But do you like it?"

Percy shrugged again. "I suppose."

Oliver shook his head. "Why do something if you don't even like it?"

"Not all of us are super sports dudes, Wood. An accountant just makes the most sense for me."

"Hey, I bake too!" countered Oliver.

Percy nodded. "Super sports dudes who also bake." he corrected.

Oliver glanced up at the clock, and found it was time for his meeting. He sprang up, cramming the rest of the cookie in his mouth.

"Well, Percy, it's been nice seeing you again, but I have a meeting to get to."

"Tell me how it goes." Percy called to Oliver as he closed the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Percy cringed as soon as the door closed behind Wood. "Tell me how it goes?" he repeated to himself. "Nice one, Percy."

He bit off half of another cookie, savoring the way the sugary taste exploded against his tongue. He'd always thought his mother was the best cook in the world, but these cookies were making it hard for him to keep that opinion. It was probably, as he'd said, just because he was so hungry, but still...

Percy had no idea why he was focusing so very much on the cookies, but he knew he still had some work to do if he wanted to get out of the building before dark. Wiping crumbs off his mouth, he turned his focus back to the papers on his desk, glancing up at his computer every once in a while.

He felt a pinch of pride when he managed to stay still as he heard Wood come back into the office again. He looked up.

"Percy!" greeted Wood happily. 

"I take it your meeting went well?" watching as Oliver sunk into the armchair.

"Not only well, it went brilliant! It went swimmingly! It was simply spiffing! What's another big word?"

"Stupendous." Percy supplied.

"It was absolutely stupendous!"

Percy laughed. "What happened, then?" 

"Well, Harry said that there were some people showing interest in me from some good teams and so I asked him if one of those teams was Pulldmere and he said yes. He said they already had a contract drawn up and all they need is for me to look over it!"

Percy found Wood's excitement contagious. He took another cookie, though that probably had more to do with the fact that he really liked the cookies.

"What, so you're definitely playing with them?"

"Well, obviously, not immediately. I'll be a reserve at first but I hope to be playing by next year."

This meant very little to Percy, but he nodded. "Right."

"I'll be on the same team as all of my favorite players!" said Wood, starting to describe each and every one of his idols, who'd all been on the team at some point.

Percy tuned him out, looking back at his computer, occasionally throwing out a "Yes," or an "I see."

Finally, Wood seemed to slowly run out of energy. His talking became less jumbled and much easier to understand.

Percy looked up, glancing at the clock. Wood had been here for nearly 20 minutes, just talking about his favorite football players. Percy had gotten a surprisingly large amount of work done despite the background noise.

"Well, my shift starts in 20 minutes." said Wood finally, rising from the chair. 

"Shift?" Percy inquired, raising his eyebrows. 

"I wait tables, just until I can get signed. Probably won't be doing much longer."

Percy nodded, finding this little fact very interesting. "Well, I'll see you around, I suppose."

Wood grinned back. "Try not to finish the cookies too fast."

"No promises." 

Wood chuckled as he exited the office, leaving Percy to his work.


	4. Chapter 4

Oliver felt strangely light as he exited the building which he'd learned was called The Morgan Building. He'd found that Percy didn't mind his incessant talking the way most people did. Or maybe it was just the cookies. Either way, Oliver had found a place he could talk to his heart's content and dump the products of his stress baking.

When he got home late that night, he pulled the packet of papers stapled together out of his bag. his contract. He treated it with the utmost care, even though Harry had emailed it to him and he could print off a new one at any time. He'd gone over the basic outline with Harry, but this was the first time he was reading it in its entirety. 

He tried to read it, but the big words swirled around in his brain and he realized he wasn't going to understand anything until he got some sleep. The next morning, his plans were soon ruined when his roommates, Marcus and Penelope came back. They'd brought friends and they were being really quite loud for such a small flat. 

When he'd tried to tell them to keep it down, he'd discovered that they were all totally smashed, even though it was barely the afternoon.

Rolling his eyes, Oliver grabbed his jacket and bag and left, intending to find a cafe or somewhere quiet he could read the contract. Without even realizing where he was headed, he found himself at the Morgan Building. Shrugging, he walked in, standing in front of Percy's office before he knew it. Through the hazy glass window, Oliver could see that no one was there, and his shoulders sank.

What was he doing, anyway? He couldn't just barge in on Percy uninvited. This was his workplace, for goodness sakes. He made to leave, but almost immediately ran into Percy.

"Oliver!" he greeted. "You have another meeting again?"

Oliver was so flustered, he couldn't come up with a suitable lie. Instead, he just blurted out the truth. "All of my roommates are crazy drunk, and I needed a quiet place to read my contract in peace, and here I am?"

Percy blinked. 

"If you let me hang out in your office, I'll bring you more baked goods." Oliver offered.

Percy grinned. "Well, why didn't you just say so?" He walked to the office and pulled the door open. Oliver followed, a little dumbstruck he was allowed to be here.

"Just sit down in your usual place and do whatever you need to do." Percy said, gesturing at the cushy chair. His heart raced a little as he realized he had a usual place.

"Thanks, Percy. You're a lifesaver." he sat in the familiar chair, pulling out his contract. "You won't get in trouble for me being here or anything?" he asked.

Percy shook his head. "I work for myself. It has its perks."

And with that, Percy sat at his desk and started working at his computer. Oliver looked down at the paper and soon lost himself in the legalese.


	5. Chapter 5

"Percy?" 

Percy looked up at Wood, who'd made it about halfway through the contract and was looking, rather confused, at the paper.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Does this make any sense to you?" Wood asked, thrusting the paper at Percy. 

Percy, who was quite fluent in legalese, thank you very much, scanned the offending passage. "It means that if you're found guilty of a crime, the contract is terminated. You should be fine."

Percy traced the line on the paper, leaning forward so his head was nearly touching Wood's. He pointed out the words, then looked up to find Wood's face startlingly near his own. Percy moved back, trying to act casual.

Oliver read it again, seeming to understand it better this time. "Thanks."

Percy nodded and they fell back into their easy silence, only being interrupted when Wood finally finished the contract. 

Wood looked at Percy. "I bet it would've taken you half the time to read that."

Percy grinned. "Probably. But, you're leagues ahead of me at football, so it balances out."

Wood chuckled. "Thanks again for letting me use your office. I promise I'll bring you more food when my next meeting with Harry comes around."

"A small price to pay." Percy said, completely serious. "Actually, I have a lunch to go to, so I'll walk you out." He grabbed his coat and locked the door behind them as they walked out into the hallway.

"Lunch?" Wood asked. "That definitely doesn't sound like you."

"Normally," Percy agreed. "I would just get some vending machine snacks. But, alas, I have to meet with my brother. He's getting married, and he's bringing his fiance to meet the family. My mother would skin me alive if I didn't come."

Wood chuckled. "You've never even met your brother's fiance?" he asked.

"No," Percy explained. "He lives in Egypt. And plus, I have five brothers. And a sister. It's very difficult to keep track of who's with who all the time."

Wood was cut off from answering when they crossed the lobby and exited into the chilly air.

"See you around." Wood said, waving a hand at Percy.

"Make sure to bring snacks!" Joked Percy, before turning and crossing the street, giving a small wave as he disappeared into the crowd.

Percy wasn't dreading lunch with his family, but he wasn't exactly welcoming it either. He'd always been the odd one out, in a family full of laid back jokesters. Still, he did love his family, and he was rather excited to see who had managed to capture the heart of his oldest brother. Sighing, he pushed open the door to the restaurant.


	6. Chapter 6

Oliver arrived at the Morgan Building thirty minutes early, very much on purpose. He'd spent all week wondering what he should bake for Percy. Normally, he would just browse the internet until he found a recipe that piqued his interest and that he had all of the ingredients for, but this time he wanted to make something special, something that would impress Percy. For some strange reason, he really wanted to impress the undernourished redhead. 

Finally, he decided on a classic: cupcakes. Oliver had been making cupcakes for as long as he could remember, and it was almost a second nature to him, almost like football.

Once Oliver had managed to frost the cupcakes and threaten to cause extreme bodily harm to his roommates if they even dared go near his precious cupcakes, Oliver was feeling much better.

He kept the good mood with him as he strode into the lobby and made his way up the stairs, holding the box carefully in front of him, being very careful not to jostle the cupcakes.

Finally, he burst into Percy's office, holding the cupcake box like it was the holy grail, here to save them all. Percy's eyes zeroed in on the food, and he grinned. "Cupcakes. Lovely choice."

Oliver brought it up to Percy and presented the cupcakes. "I hope my debt to you is repaid."

Percy, who had snatched up a cupcake as soon as they were in reaching distance, nodded. "Repaid in full." he agreed.

Oliver sat down and took a cupcake of his own, trying his best not to spill any crumbs.

"I hope you've actually eaten something today." Oliver prompted.

Percy looked at him guiltily. "I had a stick of gum?" he tried. 

Oliver rolled his eyes. "That's not food."

"Okay," Percy admitted. "Then no. But I'm so glad because these are so good." He took another bite, smearing a little frosting on his lip.

Oliver resisted the urge to wipe it off, and instead just focused on his own cupcake.

"So," Percy said. "You're signing the contract today?"

Oliver smiled. "Yes, it's almost official!"

Percy nodded. "So," he probed gently. "You won't be coming around here so much, huh?"

Oliver looked up at Percy. Were his ears pink, or was that just Oliver's imagination?

"No." he said "I guess not." Oliver hadn't really thought about it, but once his contract was signed, he wouldn't need to visit Harry for a while.

"Better savor these while I can, then." Percy told Oliver. Oliver felt his heart drop a little, though he didn't know why.

"I guess you'd better." said Oliver. 

They fell into a comfortable silence, busying themselves with the cupcakes.

"Oh!" Oliver realized. "How did your lunch with your family go?"

Percy swallowed a bite before replying. "Actually, quite well. Bill's fiance is a very... interesting woman. French, actually. But she seems to make him very happy. Oh! And you'll never believe who my little sister is dating!"

Oliver raised an eyebrow at Percy. "Who?" 

"Harry Potter!" Percy burst out.

"Really?" Asked Oliver, leaning forward.

"Yes," Percy informed him. "Apparently it's been going on for a couple of months and he wanted to meet the family and so on."

"Did he recognize you?"

"No, I never leave my office so I don't think he's actually met me." said Percy matter of factly.

Oliver chuckled. "Of course. I forgot you basically live here."

Percy nodded. "But I recognized him, of course. Ginny found it all very funny. My family thinks I work too hard."

"You do." said Oliver immediately.

"I work as much as I need too to be successful!" Percy said, inflamed.

"Ginny's your sister?" asked Oliver, changing the subject quickly, knowing that he would never convince Percy he was working too hard.

"Yes, she's the youngest. Before her was Ron, then the twins Fred and George, then me, then Charlie, and oldest is Bill."

Percy started animatedly describing his family, how Bill had been a goody two-shoes then ran away to Egypt and came back a completely changed man with a French model fiance, how Charlie had finally saved up enough to go to veterinary school, Fred and George's recently opened joke shop, Ron and his strange fear of spiders, and how Ginny was the toughest of them all, despite being the smallest.

Oliver got lost in Percy's storytelling, trying to imagine having such a large and close-knit family. Oliver was an only child, and his parents had always expected him to do something more traditional with his life, instead of pursuing sports professionally. He loved them, of course, but he felt like he would never reach the level of closeness that Percy's family had.

He felt like it had been only five minutes, but soon half an hour had passed, and Oliver had to cut Percy off.

"I'm sorry, but my appointment starts now." he excused.

"Of course," said Percy graciously. "As long as I can keep the cupcakes."

Oliver grinned as he closed the door. "See you around."


	7. Chapter 7

Though Wood had given him a quick update when he'd left that day–his contract was signed and it was now official!–he'd had to leave right after.

Percy hadn't seen him in the long and lonely month since. Though he'd only met Wood three times, he found himself craving the conversations along with the delicious treats Wood brought with him. 

Percy tried to shake it off, but he just couldn't help feeling that the small office somehow felt darker without Wood's bright presence.

_ This is ridiculous. _ Percy told himself.  _ You're just hungry. _ On that note, Percy took a sip of his highly unsatisfying coffee. He grimaced, but it focused him and he was soon typing away.

That was why, when the door burst open, Percy startled, knocking his pencil cup off his desk  _ again.  _ He made a mental note not to keep the blasted thing so close to his elbow before looking up.

"Wood? What are you doing here?"

Indeed, slightly wet and carrying a workout bag over his shoulder, Oliver Wood was loitering in his doorway.

"Listen." Oliver Wood. "I hate to do this again, but can I stay here? Just until the storm lets up! I forgot my umbrella, which I feel was pretty silly of me considering I looked at the forecast and all, but I did it anyway. Promise I'll bring you food!"

Percy's stomach, the betraying thing, growled.

Wood raised an eyebrow and Percy sighed. "Fine, come in." he waved at the cushy chair and started gathering his pens and pencils.

"So, what possessed you to forget your umbrella?" asked Percy, straightening up.

Wood's face brightened, and Percy somehow knew he was going to talk about football.

"It's my first practice, you see," he explained. "And I was so nervous even though I'm not even really important. So I forgot to pack my umbrella." He patted the bag

Percy nodded. "Of course." He didn't mention how Wood could have just stepped into a store or something to wait out the storm, but instead had come here.

"So, how did the practice go?"

Wood's face fell a little. "Well, since it was the first day, it was all just talking. There wasn't even any actual football. But, Coach Black said we would start drilling tomorrow." he grinned.

"How disappointing." Percy remarked.

"What about you?" Wood exclaimed. "Eaten anything since I saw you last?"

Percy held up the coffee and Wood grimaced. "So, no." he said.

Percy simply shrugged and looked out his tiny window. In all honesty, he hadn't even realized that it was storming outside, he'd been too wrapped up in his work.

Now that he looked, he could tell that the storm wouldn't be giving up anytime soon.

"Can't believe you forgot an umbrella with the sky looking like that." Percy teased.

"Ha, ha." Wood deadpanned, making Percy grin.

An awkward silence filled the room as Percy realized they didn't really have much to talk about.

"Has you brother gotten married yet?" asked Wood finally.

Percy shook his head. "No, but the date is set. Two months from now."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Oh, do tell. Are you going to be a groomsman?"

Percy gulped the last of his coffee, tossing the cup into the trash. He saw Wood grimace. "Uh-huh. Charlie is the best man, and they're having it at my parents home, of all places. Her family is all flying in from France."

"Is your parent's home a very wedding-worthy place?"

Percy shrugged. "I suppose, if it's cleaned up properly. It's always been a mess with all of the children running about. Actually, I haven't been back since Christmas two years ago."

He glanced again at the window, and saw that the storm had miraculously cleared up, leaving nothing but wet pavement and annoyed commuters. Though the second part was always the case.

Wood followed his gaze, and stood up. "Thank you for letting me hide out again. I promise I'll bring you food. I've started cooking properly, and not just baking!"

Percy beamed, imagining eating a proper meal for once.

"Well, see you around." said Wood, lingering at the doorway a moment too long before leaving unhurriedly.


	8. Chapter 8

That night, Oliver made extra pizza, wrapping it in foil before putting it in the fridge. He shared the rest with Penelope and Marcus as they laughed over an episode of some reality TV show.

Though Oliver could probably afford his own flat now, he chose to stay with Penelope and Marcus, even though they were always getting drunk and begging him to make them food.

He glanced at the clock. Tomorrow's practice was an afternoon one, but he didn't want to risk sleeping in. Excusing himself, he brushed his teeth and headed off to bed.

After heating the pizza and wrapping it in foil, Oliver left his flat behind, delving into the busy street, walking fast.

Taking the bus would be faster, but he liked getting in this small warm-up before practice. Luckily, the Morgan Building was on his way to practice, so he didn't have to walk too far to get there.

"I brought pizza!" he announced as he entered Percy's office, holding up the foil-wrapped package.

"Excellent!" said Percy promptly, shifting papers around on his desk to make room.

Oliver handed him a slice, opting not to take one for himself.

"I made the crust and the sauce and everything." he explained. "It just tastes so much better homemade."

Percy nodded in agreement, his mouth full.

"As someone who's been living off fast food for a while now, I can confirm that." he said, finally swallowing.

Oliver shook his head, disappointed, but he found himself smiling.

"How did your practice go today?" Percy asked.

"Actually, that's where I'm going." Oliver informed him. "But hopefully there's more football today. The two assistant coaches seemed really weird. They kept on interrupting each other while they were talking yesterday. Maybe it was part of the presentation?"

Percy only murmured in agreement, his focus back on the pizza.

"What about you?" Oliver queried. "Any new and exciting developments in the world of accounting?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "No, but I got a new client. There's that, at least."

Oliver glanced down at the neatly organized desk in front of him. "Riveting." he said.

Percy smirked. "I can talk about my family more if you'd like."

"I would love to hear about them." Oliver countered. "But I have a practice to get to, and you have a pizza to swallow whole."

Oliver thought he saw Percy's face fall just a little, but he shook it off, chalking it up to his imagination.

"See you around." Percy told him.

"See you around." Oliver replied, walking out of the office.


	9. Chapter 9

Another month passed and Wood kept on visiting Percy's office before his practices, bringing him food every once in a while. Admittedly, Percy only allowed this to happen at first because of the food, but soon he found himself anticipating the conversation as much as–no, more than–the meals.

Wood's practices were not every day and not always at the same time, so Percy was kept on his toes, though he didn't mind the breaks in his monotonous schedule.

As Wood brought him everything from homemade chocolate to samosas, Percy got to know him better and discovered that he was really quite a complex individual. Percy had known this already, of course. A footballer who enjoyed cooking and chatting with accountants wasn't something you saw every day.

When Wood strode into the office that afternoon, Percy was just finishing up a rather large account.

Percy didn't even notice that Wood wasn't even carrying any food until he announced, "Listen, I made curry, but that's not exactly a transportable item, so I brought you this instead." He pulled a red something out from behind his back.

Percy stared at it, confused.

"An apple!" proclaimed Wood.

Percy rolled his eyes. "I know what an apple is, Wood."

"Really?" he asked sarcastically. "Wow, I bet you even know oranges."

Percy rolled his eyes again.

"You know you need to eat fruit to stay healthy, right? You can't just live on whatever I bring you and coffee."

"I don't know, it's been working so far." Percy replied as Wood took his usual seat.

Wood only held the apple out in front of Percy's face. "You're going to die at 30 of a heart attack, and it will be all my fault. Take it. Eat it."

Percy shook his head, but took the apple, biting off some of it. "I hope you've washed this," he warned Wood.

"Of course." Wood said.

Percy found that he was actually enjoying the apple quite a bit. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had just a fruit on its own.

"See?" Wood pointed out. "It's not so bad."

"Fine." he conceded. "It's not so bad." He frowned but continued to eat the apple.

In between bites, he asked. "So, any new updates on the Alicia-Cedric situation?"

Alicia Spinnet and Cedric Diggory were both assistant coaches for Puddlemere, always competing for favor with the head coach. It didn't help that they were madly in love with each other, though they were the only ones who didn't know it. According to Wood, it was all anyone gossiped about on the team, and he relayed the gossip to Percy.

"Oh, yes!" Wood’s eyes lit up. "Yesterday, everyone got an email that was clearly meant for just Alicia where the Coach Black told her he was going to retire at the end of the season and hinted strongly that she was his favorite for replacing him.

Then, everyone got an email from Cedric which he clearly meant to send to everyone about how he was so unappreciated and never got the credit he deserved for all of his hard work. I'm pretty certain he was drunk when he wrote it, because there are tons of spelling mistakes and it gets very rant-y at the end."

Percy smiled. "And no reply to that?"

"I suspect that Coach Black sent one to Cedric personally, but there have been none sent to us all."

"Those two are all the soap operas in one."

"Speaking of which," Wood said. "How are the wedding preparations coming?"

"Don't remind me." Percy muttered. "Fleur's mother insisted they move it back another week because her second cousin wouldn't be able to make it on the set date."

"How did your mother take it?" Wood asked, leaning forward."

Percy grimaced. "Not well, but she managed to win out in the end because she pointed out that they would have to cancel the caterer and there's a heavy fee."

"So the date hasn't actually changed?"

"It took nearly a week of angry calls, but in the end they managed to change... absolutely nothing." Percy confirmed.

He realized that he'd finished the apple, down to its core. He dropped it into the trash can, surprisingly satisfied.

"I see you enjoyed the apple." said Wood, unable to keep a shit-eating grin off his face.

Percy resisted the urge to flip him off, but instead just ignored him, bending over a paper on his desk. He didn't actually need to do anything with the paper, but he just didn't want to reply to Wood.

"Oh, fine." Wood said with mock hurt. "I see how it is. I add twenty years to your life, and you just ignore me."

Percy couldn't help the smile that started to tug at his lips, and Wood saw the weakness and began to prey on it.

"You'll be sorry when I die tragically from a stray falling anvil and the last thing you did to me was ignore me."

Percy tried to push down the laugh, but it burbled out of him anyway. "Dammit, Wood." he wheezed. 

Wood started to laugh too, and soon they were both breathing heavily, smiling widely.

Percy looked at Oliver, whose face was flushed from laughter. He was sprawled out on the chair, his workout bag on his lap.

His eyes met Percy's, and Percy felt his ears get warm for no reason at all.

He cleared his throat loudly, breaking the trance that had fallen over the room. 

Wood blinked and looked at the clock. "I'd better be going. Practice starts soon."

"See you around." Percy said, feeling a little confused, but Wood was already gone.


	10. Chapter 10

Oliver was extra excited today. After practically running from Percy after staring at him for much too long, he'd been rather embarrassed. He'd finally accepted that he had a crush on the redhead, and that Percy certainly didn't feel the same way. He was content with being friends.

His emotions had driven him to the kitchen, and he'd spent hours working on what might've been his best creation yet.

The macrons were delicate and unblemished. He'd made them before, of course, but they'd never turned out quite so well. He'd taste-tested them as well, and they were the tastiest he'd ever made as well.  _ Just an all around masterpiece.  _ He thought proudly.

He was so intent on making sure that Percy tasted the amazing delicacies, that he didn't check that there was no one in the office before making a grand entrance.

"These are possibly the best macarons in the history of ever." he boasted, swinging the door open wildly.

Instead of an enthusiastic Percy, making space on his desk, Oliver saw two people standing at Percy's desk. They had the same red hair as Percy, though not as curly.

They turned to Oliver, and he saw that their faces were identical. They must've been Percy's twin brothers, Fred and George.

"Hello, Wood." Percy said, waving. "These are my brothers."

Wood cleared his throat. "Should I... wait outside?"

"No, it's fine." said Percy. "They were just leaving."

"Hold on a second." said one one of the twins. "I know you."

"Really?" asked Wood, tilting his head. 

"Yeah!" said the other one. "Yeah, you were drafted recently."

Oliver nodded. "Yeah, by Puddlmere. But I'm not even important. How do you know me?"

"Pretty much everyone in my family is obsessed with football." Percy explained. "I told you that."

"Yeah, but I didn't know it was  _ this _ much." Oliver replied. 

"They're almost as bad as you." said Percy.

"Ha ha." Oliver said, rolling his eyes.

"Wait, so you  _ are _ a football player?" asked the first twin.

Oliver nodded, stepping into the office and dropping his bag.

"Cool." whispered the second twin. "How'd you get such a cool friend, Percy?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "I know you're just stalling. I already told you I'm not doing it. Now, get out. I need to work."

"I'm not stalling!" he insisted.

"Well, I still have to work, so go." Percy said shortly.

The first twin finally gave in. "Alright, then. Let's go, George. It's clear he doesn't love us."

Percy muttered something under his breath, and the twins left, glancing at Oliver.

Oliver took his seat, placing the macrons on his desk.

"What did they ask you to do?" he asked.

Percy groaned. "They want me to test out their new project for their shop."

"Don't they run a joke shop?" Oliver asked.

"Exactly." Percy sighed. "And their projects aren't exactly known for their safety. Growing up, there were always strange smells and sounds coming from their room."

Oliver chuckled. "Oh, I see. They wanted to use you as a guinea pig."

"Just like old times." Percy said.

Feeling a little awkward, Oliver offered Percy the macrons, and he took one happily. 

"So? How are they?" Oliver interrogated, leaning forward.

Percy finished chewing, then nodded. "They're..."

He nodded again, thoughtfully. Oliver opened his mouth, but Percy held up a finger, silencing him.

"Hmmmmmmmm." he murmured with fake thoughtfulness. "I need a few hours before I can give you a verdict." he teased.

"Percy Weasley, I swear to god." Oliver said tensely.

Percy finally broke, bursting into laughter. "Wood, they're amazing, of course. I mean, you made them."

Oliver sagged into the chair, glaring at Percy. "I worked really hard on those," he sniped.

Percy's smile faded a little. "Wood, you know everything you make is delicious."

Oliver couldn't help smiling a little. "Yeah, I know."

They sat in silence for a moment, Oliver still wearing a small smile.

Percy struck up a conversation and they chatted about nothing for a while before Oliver finally left, still feeling a little extra happy from Percy's praise.

"See you around." he said, leaning in the doorway.

Percy gave a small wave and Oliver walked out.


	11. Chapter 11

Percy looked down at the wrapped box on his desk. It had arrived at his flat the day before, but with specific instructions not to open it until the day after. The single box from his mother was the only thing he received for his birthday.

He wasn't disappointed, really. His siblings had forgotten his birthday last year and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't forgotten a handful of birthdays over the years. But... at least last year he'd gotten a few texts.

Percy sighed, clearing his mind of it. He'd open it later, seeing as he already knew it was a sweater. It was fine. He didn't care, anyway. He repeated it to himself as he turned on his computer. 

All day, he couldn't help but glance down where he'd hidden the gift, his fingers itching to rip off the red-and-blue wrapping paper. 1:17 passed, and Percy exhaled, knowing that he was now officially 25. He'd been born 25 years ago.

Percy released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Strangely, he'd been expecting something to happen, like a clap of thunder, or a giant busting down the door. But nothing happened.

He looked down at the paper picking his pen back up. As soon as he had it in his hand, the door swung open and Wood strode in. 

Percy flinched a little, still on edge. He knocked over his pencil cup and the pens spilled all over the floor. He sighed.

"This again?" he said at the cup. "Really?"

The cup said nothing.

"Whatever." he muttered, quickly gathering the cup and its contents in a swift grab. 

Wood was looking at him with a peculiar expression on his face. "Are you... okay?" he probed.

Percy waved a hand. "Yes, I'm fine. Just..." he waved his hand around again.

"Right." said Wood, taking a seat. "I understood that." his voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Percy rolled his eyes and decided not to dignify that with a response. 

"Food?" he asked.

"Grilled Cheese." Wood responded.

"How... elegant?" It was more of a question than a statement.

"Shut up, they have tomatoes." Wood responded.

Percy shrugged, accepting the foil-wrapped sandwich, unwrapping it.

"Oh, hey." Wood said after a moment. "I think you missed a pen."

He bent down and picked up the pen, but not before noticing the red-and-blue wrapped object. He grabbed it.

"What's this?" he asked, holding it up. He shook it a little, and Percy winced, even though he knew the sweater would be fine.

"A gift." Percy said simply, quickly taking another bite of the sandwitch to avoid explaining.

Wood squinted at the label, reading it. "Dear Percy, have a wonderful day. XOXO."

Wood donned a wicked grin. _ "Percy Weasley,  _ do you have a special lady friend?" he teased.

Percy felt his ears heat up. 

"God, Wood. It's from my mother." he retorted.

He looked confused. "Why is your mother sending you presents?" he questioned.

"It's my birthday." Percy muttered.

"What?" Oliver exclaimed.

Percy glared at him. "You heard me, Wood. Please don't make a big deal about it."

"What?" Wood sputtered. "I'm not going to– what do you mean?"

Percy looked at him pointedly, and Wood had the decency to look a little sheepish.

"Well, what are you doing?" he asked.

"...Eating a sandwich." Percy replied, a little puzzled.

Wood let out a little  _ tsk. _ "No, idiot. I mean for your birthday. What are you doing for your birthday?"

Percy blinked. "Well, nothing."

Wood let out an audible gasp. "Nothing?"

"Nothing."

_ "Nothing?" _

"Nothing."

_ "Not–" _

"Wood, for chrissake, calm down."

Wood leaned back in his chair, but didn't drop his expression. Then, a slow smile came over his face and his eyes glazed over.

"Wood?" Percy demanded. "What are you thinking about?"

Wood snapped out of his stupor. "Nothing... nothing at all." he said hastily, wiping the expression from his face.

Percy knew he was lying, but he also knew Wood was much too stubborn to ever reveal his secrets, so he dropped it.

"Well," he tried to change the subject. "Anything about Alicia and Cedric?"

"Percy, you're not doing  _ anything?" _

"I was going to open this present." he said, snatching it away from Wood. 

Wood looked at him expectantly.

"What, you want me to do it now?" Percy asked.

Oliver nodded.

Percy rolled his eyes for the millionth time, but decided to open it. He tore open the paper, enjoying the crinkle.

Just as he'd suspected, it was a sweater, but it was much larger than usual, with a hard lump in the center. Furrowing his brow, he unfolded the sweater and found a book nestled in the wool. He read the title.

_ Growing Older: Finding the Perfect Balance Between Work and Romance. _

"Subtle, mum." he muttered, looking up at Wood.

Wood hadn't even noticed the book, he was too interested in the sweater. He picked it up and looked at the big 'P' in the center. 

Before Percy could even react, Wood whipped off his shirt and put on Percy's sweater. Luckily for Percy, he had an undershirt, though Percy couldn't help the pang of disappointment. Because his sweater had been stolen. Not because he hadn't seen.... anyway.

"Hey!" he protested. "What are you doing?"

Wood shrugged. "It fits me better."

Percy had to admit that this was true. 

"Looks like mum's forgotten how scrawny I am." he said.

"Or maybe it's because you never  _ eat _ anything." Wood countered, giving Percy a stern look.

Percy took an exaggerated bite from his sandwich in response. Wood wrinkled his nose.

Chuckling, Percy crumpled up the foil and threw it away.

He quickly struck up a conversation about Cedric and Alicia, completely forgetting that Wood was still wearing his sweater.

They got caught up in the gossip, and suddenly Wood looked up at the clock. "Holy–I have to go!" he exclaimed. He sprung up and dashed out of the room before Percy could even react.

"Goodbye." he muttered, not even noticing that Wood had run out wearing his sweater.


	12. Chapter 12

As soon as he got back from practice that night, Oliver got to work baking. His master plan had been sitting in his head all day, and though he'd felt weird calling Harry for such a personal matter, he had to do it for the plan.

"Ohhhh!" Penelope exclaimed as she arrived home very late from who-knows-where. "Cake for dinner tonight?"

Oliver glared at her. "This is for a friend. You and Marcus are Absolutely Not Allowed To Touch It."

Penelope frowned and looked over his shoulder at the cake, which Oliver was icing. 

"Happy Birt-" she read as Oliver completed the 't.' "Oh, is it one of your teammates' birthdays?"

"No." Oliver said, finishing off the 'h.' "Not a teammate."

Penelope looked genuinely surprised. "You have friends outside of the team?" she asked.

"You're hilarious, Penny." Oliver deadpanned. "Of course I do."

"Huh." she said simply, rummaging in the cabinets for food. And that ended the conversation.

Oliver arrived at Percy's office at 3:15, sheepishly holding Percy's sweater. 

"Sorry for running out like that." He said, holding out the folded sweater. Percy used his pen to point to the t-shirt slung on the chair across from him. 

"You left that." Oliver picked it up, folding it. He couldn't help himself from asking, "So... do anything for your birthday?" He tried unsuccessfully to keep the grin off his face.

"No." Percy looked up suspiciously. "Why?"

Oliver gave up on trying to hide his smile. "No reason." He stepped sideways, positioning himself in front of the door, so Percy wouldn't see the stream of red haired people walking by the office through the frosted glass window.

"Okay?" Percy said, looking back down at his work. It was a clear dismissal, but Oliver still needed to stall him for another 13 minutes.

"So." he said awkwardly. "What are you working on?"

Percy looked back up, a little annoyed. "An account." he said. "I know, it's enthralling work."

Oliver realized he'd never actually asked Percy what he did. "What do you even  _ do?"  _ he asked abruptly.

Percy blinked. "Do you not know I'm an accountant?"

Oliver blushed a little. "No, I knew. But... what does that actually mean?"

Percy looked apprehensive, but he started explaining all kinds of strange, forgein things about numbers and everything else Oliver knew nothing about. He just put a thoughtful look on his face and nodded every once in a while. He kept most of his attention on the clock, which was talking much too long to arrive at 3:30. Finally, at 3:28, Oliver was saved by Harry coming into the office.

Percy stopped suddenly, looking curiously at him.

"Hello, Harry. What brings you to my office?"

Harry responded with the response Oliver had supplied. "Could you help me move a sofa in my office? I can't do it on my own."

Oliver rolled his eyes. His exact words to Harry were 'Tell him you need help moving a sofa or something.' He hadn't expected Harry to be so utterly uncreative.

Percy looked a little startled that Harry had asked him, but he stood up anyway. "Of course."

"I'll help too." Wood interjected in what he hoped was a natural tone.

"Great!" Harry said robotically. "The more the merrier!"

Oliver was sure that Percy was onto them, but a quick glance told him that Percy seemed perplexed, but not suspicious of Harry and Oliver's behavior. 

Harry spun around and led them into his office.

Oliver let Percy go ahead of them, grinning madly and exchanging excited looks with Harry.

Percy opened the door to Harry's office and blinked at the mass of red hair that greeted him.

"Surprise!"


	13. Chapter 13

Percy had  _ known _ that Wood was up to something, but he'd never imagined that Wood would organize something of this magnitude. His whole family was here, even Fleur. His first instinct was to spin around and run out of the office, but he forced a smile onto his face.

"What!" he said. "Me? No!" He prayed that they would agree, say that the party was for their other relative named Percy, and let him go about his merry way, but his mother stepped forward and hugged him.

"Happy Birthday, Percy!" she exclaimed.

All of his family members stepped forward and gave him hugs, making Percy feel more and more awkward. Finally, he patted Fred awkwardly on the shoulder and looked around Harry's office. It had been transformed, streamers hung everywhere and the desk cleared to make space for a blue-and-black cake. 

Percy turned to Wood. "You made that?" he asked.

Wood nodded, smiling proudly.

Percy couldn't help but smile back. "It looks very good. Now let's cut it up." 

He was met with resounding agreement, and soon, the song had been sung and every one had cake in their hands. Percy busied himself with eating the cake, giving short answers to everyone's attempts to make conversation with him. 

Finally, he found himself–bizarrely–in a conversation with his mother and Wood.

"It was so nice of your friend to set this all up!" she said pointedly. "Did you like the book I gave you?"

Percy felt his ears turning red at his mother's lack of subtlety. 

"Oh, what book was it?" Wood asked, completely oblivious.

Percy was blushing hard now, his mind racing. "Er...  _ Great Expectations.  _ A real classic."

His mother sent him a glare, but didn't correct him. 

The conversation soon turned to football, and Percy drifted away, sitting in an armchair, still nibbling at his cake.

After a few moments, Ginny sat down next to him. Percy gave her a smile, as she nudged him slightly. Ginny had always understood him the best, and unlike all his other siblings, she understood his antisocial tendencies and his need to throw himself into his work.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked teasingly.

"Absolutely!" Percy responded with mock excitement. She chuckled.

"They're all here because they care about you." she reminded him. "Don't just shut down. We're your family."

Percy looked down into the cake, making a small, noncommittal noise.

Ginny grinned at him, somehow understanding what he'd said without words.

She stood up, getting ready to leave, but before she went, she said to him. "We  _ all _ care about you. Not just the family." Percy followed her gaze to Oliver, talking to a starstruck Ron.

"Ginny–" he started, but she was already gone.

After helping Harry clean up a bit, Percy returned to his office, rubbing his head. He'd taken Ginny's advice and joined the party properly. After letting go of his inhibitions, he was able to enjoy the conversations, and the time passed without him noticing.

Still, he was still Percy, and after a while, he was more than ready to get back to his actual job. Ginny seemed to understand this, and she managed to shut the party down quickly, but not without everyone giving Percy another hug.

Percy expected to feel annoyed when Oliver followed him into his office, but he found himself anticipating being with Oliver. Talking. As friends. Percy tried to expel the thoughts from his mind. It was just his mother's influence, that was all.

Oliver offered Percy the last slice of the cake, and Percy accepted it readily, collapsing behind his desk. He felt exhausted, but Wood looked, if anything, more energized. 

Wood started reminiscing about the party they'd just left moments ago. "You didn't tell me Bill was so cool! A private detective! And  _ you _ said Ron was very talkative, but he barely said a word the whole time we were talking. He just stood there, watching me. Really odd."

Percy smiled a little. "Wood, Ron was starstruck. He's a Cannons fan, but meeting any real life football player was incredible for him."

Wood looked adorably astonished. "Me? But I'm not even..." he continued, listing all of his faults.

_ Wait.  _ Percy thought.  _ Adorably astonished? _ His mother had really gotten to him. He had to snap out of this.

"Yes, you make a great point, but I have so much work to do, really. I'll see you around, okay?" He let out a nervous laugh.

Wood looked confused at the sudden dismissal, but he stepped back, grabbing his shirt as he left.

"Oh–okay, bye then." he muttered.

As soon as he was gone, Percy buried his head in his arms, trying to dispel the thoughts swirling around in his head. In an attempt to distract himself, he picked up his sweater, folding it, trying to focus on the routine movements.

The sweater smelled strange, so he raised it to his nose. He realized that it smelled like... like Wood. Wood the person. He couldn't pinpoint the smell exactly, but he knew it belonged to Wood. He found himself inhaling deeply, reveling in the smell.

Suddenly, he caught himself and froze, his eyes widening. Panicking, he threw the sweater away from him frantically, straight at the door. Because fate hated him, the door swung open and the sweater landed on Ron's face. It dropped, and Ron caught it quickly. He looked at it quizzically before tossing it back at Percy, who did not manage to catch it.

"What do you need, Ron?" he asked.

"Oh, you know. Just... wanted to wish you a happy birthday."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "We just had a party for that."

Ron nodded. _ "Right.  _ Of course. But, you know. I wanted to have a brother to brother chat."

"You have many brothers, Ron. Try again."

Ron sighed, knowing his rubbish lie had been seen through. 

"Look, I don't know how you became friends with a football player, but I want to know if..."

"Spit it out." Percy snapped.

"Do you have anything of his?" Ron blurted finally.

"What?"

Ron repeated himself, fiddling with his sleeve and turning very red.

"Ron, stop being creepy," Percy ignored the fact that moments ago he'd been sniffing a sweater Wood had worn. "Your obsession with football is unhealthy. Now, get out of here. I have actual work to do."

Ron turned redder, if that was possible, and left without another word.


	14. Chapter 14

As soon as Oliver stepped into the shower at practice, he'd realized something was wrong. Usually, the warm water washed away all of his aches and pains from the days practices, but this specific twinge stayed in his knee persistently. 

Oliver had brushed it off as nothing, ignoring the way it seemed to pull at his knee at every step. However, about halfway through his walk home, the pain was becoming unbearable, and if he didn't rest soon, he just might pass out.

So, he'd limped his way into Percy's building because it just happened to be near, and he'd taken the lift for once, because the mere thought of stairs made him want to collapse, and arrived in Percy's office unannounced, and collapsed into his chair, nearly in tears, just because it was convenient, not because he had any particular need to arrive in Percy's office for the second time that day.

"Wood? Did you forget something?" Percy hadn't even looked up from his desk as Oliver practically dragged his leg into the office.

"Nope." Oliver said in a tight voice.

Percy finally looked up, and started at the state Oliver was in. "What on Earth happened to you?" He stood up from the desk, inspecting Oliver's sweaty face.

"Hurt my leg at practice, I think." Oliver grunted out, finally looking down at his leg.

He wasn't wearing trousers, so the giant, swollen part was easy to spot. Percy saw it as well, and his eyebrows shot up as he paled a little.

"Can you get the cold pack from my bag?" Oliver asked, trying to take deep breaths. "Front pocket."

Percy obliged, leaning down to rummage through Oliver's bag. He held it out to Oliver, who cracked it open and gently placed it down on his knee, trying not to jostle it too much.

"What did you  _ do?"  _ Percy had seemingly overcome his queasiness, and was bent over Oliver's leg.

"Dunno." Oliver said. "I didn't even notice it until after I left." It didn't even hurt that much before."

Percy rolled his eyes, moving back to his desk. "Well, who should I call to get you to the hospital? I don't have a car, I'm afraid."

Oliver felt a spark of joy at the thought that Percy would drive him to the hospital, but it was soon drowned out by his panic.

"No!" he exclaimed. "No, I don't need the hospital!"

Percy gave him an  _ are-you-daft?  _ look and simply repeated, "Who should I call?"

"No one, I'm fine." Insisted Oliver.

Percy just rolled his eyes, and reopened Oliver's bag, rummaging through intrusively. Finally, he found what he needed.

"Aha!" he exclaimed, holding Oliver's cell phone in his hands. He flipped it open, and started toggling around, until he finally reached the contacts. Oliver cursed himself for not using a password. 

_ Nothing important's on that thing.  _ He'd thought.  _ It's fine. _

Now look at where he was.

"Marcus... Penelope... No, they're probably drunk, or high, or both." Oliver was startled by the information Percy knew about his life. When had they become such close friends?

"What about any teammates?" Percy asked.

Oliver glared at him, not daring to move for fear of disturbing his knee.

"Ah, Cedric. He should be good. Assistant coach and all."

Looking straight into Oliver's eyes, Percy hit the call button.

Cedric picked up in a single ring.

"Wood?" he asked.

"Ah, no. I'm a friend of his. He seems to have injured his knee and I would take him to the hospital, but I don't have a car, and he's in no shape to walk. He said you two are friends, and you'd be happy to take him."

Oliver didn't hear Cedric's response, but it made Percy grin and give the address of the building, so it couldn't've been good.

"He'll be here in 10." Percy announced, ending the call. 

"Take that damn grin off your face." Oliver growled, swatting at Percy.

Percy dodged, stepping out of Oliver's limited reach, and only grinned harder.

Percy stepped behind the desk, picking his calculator back up, leaving Oliver to stew on his pain in silence.

Finally, he couldn't take it. Oliver cleared his throat.

"So, Percy. How's your family?"

"Good."

"Oh, okay. Good."

A beat of silence.

"So, Percy. Have any new clients?"

"No, I do not."

"Ah, I see."

Another beat of silence.

"So, Percy. Heard about-"

Percy looked up, scowling. "No, I probably haven't."

Oliver raised his hands in mock surrender. "Just making conversation."

Percy relaxed a little and nodded. "Alright."

Another beat of silence.

Another.

Another.

Oliver couldn't suppress the strained sigh that escaped his lips, as the steady throbbing of his leg became too much.

Percy looked up and Oliver stared resolutely at the wall behind him.

"Wood?" he asked.

"Hmmmmm?" Oliver tried to keep his voice from shaking.

"What was that?"

"Just... hurts a bit, that's all." he said finally.

Oliver could feel Percy's concern emanating from him, but he ignored it, fiddling with the hem of his shirt

"Well, yesterday, Fred accidently called me and I think he meant to call a girl, because he kept calling me Angie, and he just kept talking, making a huge speech about how he loved me–me being Angie–and he wasn't going to let me go to Paris without telling me, and then I finally got in a word, and I could feel him get red through the phone, and he hung up all of a sudden."

Oliver looked at Percy strangely, but Percy just plowed on.

"And my mum keeps on pestering me about–" Percy's voice hitched just a little bit, but he pushed through it. "–about how I need to get married already. So, I asked my father to ask her to stop her, but then  _ he _ said that she was unstoppable. And then he said that he agreed with her, and they'd been talking about setting me up with some of their friend's childrens."

"Percy, what are you talking about?" Oliver interrupted abruptly. 

"Wood, I'm just answering your question. You asked for it." Percy looked at Oliver, a glint in his eyes.

"Anyway, Harry came in here the other day, and he said he was thinking of asking Ginny to move in with him, and he wondered what I thought of the idea, and I asked him why he was asking me, instead of my mum or something, and then he said that  _ I _ was her favorite brother and she was always worrying about me. Can you believe that?"

Percy continued, telling story after story, each more inconsequential than the last. Oliver found that listening to–and watching–Percy talk was a more that adequate distraction from the pain in his knee.

Oliver noticed his shoelaces had come undone, and forgetting the pain in his knee, he leaned forward and tried to fix it. Immediately, bolts of pain shot up his leg, reminding him of the injury.

He hissed loudly and Percy was beside him in a second. "Wood, what's wrong?"

Oliver shook his head, trying to focus on breathing. "Just need to tie my shoe, that's all."

"Here, I'll do it." Percy said, moving his hand to Oliver's shoe. Oliver watched, entranced, as Percy's long, delicate fingers deftly pulled the strings together in a neat bow.

"Thanks." Oliver breathed out slowly.

Percy nodded and glanced at the clock. "It's been 10 minutes," he observed. "He should be here."

Oliver simply nodded, watching the way the light hit Percy's bright curls. Even the fake, artificial lights couldn't diminish the beauty of his hair.

What?

Percy leaned forward, coming face to face with Oliver. "Wood, are you sweating? How much does it hurt, really? Should I call an ambulance?"

Oliver felt very hot, and he was sure that the blood not in his knee was flushing his cheeks. He could almost feel Percy's breath on his lips, and he tried to rid his mind of the impure thoughts cluttering it.

"It's not that bad, really." He insisted.

Percy looked unconvinced and leaned forward  _ even more. _ Oliver tried to calm his breathing, sure his eyes were wide as saucers.

He tried to think about anything else but how he was so close to Percy that he could kiss him easily, so easily.

Finally, Oliver's resolve broke. He leaned forward, closing the distance between the two of them. He felt Percy freeze, but Oliver kissed him anyway, stopping only when Percy pulled back with a little gasp. He stared at Oliver, shocked, for a moment, before leaning backward.

"Oliver–"

The door swung open, and Cedric rapped on it twice, announcing his presence. He scowled at Oliver, who was too busy trying to process everything that was happening to be annoyed.

"Wood, what did you do?"

Oliver was still looking at Percy, and hardly heard what Cedric had said. Still, he realized that the moment was broken, and he turned away from the confused looking Percy. He gave Cedric the cheekiest grin he could manage, and asked. "Sorry, what?"


	15. Chapter 15

Percy hadn't heard from Wood all week. He'd spent the entire time agitated, worrying about Wood, analyzing the kiss from every angle possible.

_ He was just in a lot of pain, and his emotions got the best of him. _ Percy told himself. That was the only explanation. The other option... 

No. Nope.

Still, Percy couldn't help his wandering mind and he fell behind on his work, so that he had to take some of it home with him, not that he was any more productive there. 

He hoped that the injury wasn't too serious and that Wood would still be able to play. It would destroy him if he was out before the season even started.

_ Not thinking about him.  _ Percy reminded himself, staring back down at the desk.

He wondered if Wood had made it to the hospital safely. Percy could tell the walk to the lift and out to Cedric's car had been excruciating for him.

Not _ thinking about him.  _ Percy reminded himself.

Percy wondered if he would still visit Percy even if he was taken off the team. Would he still bring Percy food?

_ Not. Thinking. About. Him. _ Percy mentally slapped himself.

As if his traitorous thoughts had summoned him, the door to Percy's office had swung open and the devil himself was standing there.

Devil was a slight exaggeration, but Percy was not feeling very benevolent towards Wood at the moment.

Still, Percy couldn't help the relief that flooded through him.

"Percy!" Wood greeted joyfully. "I brought you thank you brownies!"

Percy heard his stomach growl, and Wood grinned harder, letting himself in. Percy noticed that he had a large brace on his knee, which was still not quite right.

"Thank you for calling Cedric and getting me proper medical attention." Wood said with a flourish, handing Percy the brownies.

Percy took them, feeling even more awkward than usual.

Wood leaned in conspiratorially, and Percy felt his heartbeat quicken. "To be honest," he shared. "I don't actually remember much, but Cedric says I came here and you called him to come pick me up. The drugs made me a little loopy."

Percy released his breath and nodded. "You don't remember... anything?" he probed, just in case.

Oliver shook his head. "Nope, I don't. Not a thing."

Percy felt... hurt. Hurt? No, he should feel happy. If Oliver didn't remember, then they didn't have to talk about it. Yes, this was good.

Percy stuffed his mouth with brownie, stopping the conversation. He chewed for as long as he could before taking a second bite, his mind scrambling for something to say. Acting natural was hard enough normally. Now, it was feeling impossible.

Luckly, Oliver picked up the conversation, describing what had happened at the hospital.

Percy tried to focus on the words, nodding every once in a while and even giving a smile when Wood said he would be fine to play by the time the season started.

Soon, Wood was putting away his brownies and talking about a physical therapy session he needed to go to, and as quickly as he'd come, he was gone, leaving behind an empty office, save for a very confused redhead.


	16. Chapter 16

Oliver remembered everything. Of course he did. He remembered Percy's triumphant smile as he called Cedric, the small crease in his forehead as he watched Oliver grit his teeth through the pain. Most of all, he remembered the shock written all over his face when Oliver had made the terrible mistake of kissing him.

There was no way he was going to go through the embarrassment of discussing that. Nope, better to fake ignorance.

Still, Oliver wondered what could have happened if he hadn't lied.

_ Anyway,  _ he thought forcefully.  _ Let's think about anything else. _

He was still in the building, laboriously making his way down the stairs. He didn't actually have any physical therapy, but he could tell Percy had zoned out, and the awkwardness was becoming too much for Oliver. So he'd made his excuses and left.

Now, he was contemplating taking the lift as he peered down at the two stories he still had to climb.

_ No.  _ he reminded himself.  _ Have to stay in shape.  _ And so, Oliver lowered himself down the next step, his head filled with thoughts about Percy and kisses and amnesia.

~

After three solid weeks of avoiding Percy, the guilt finally got to him, and Oliver found himself whipping up a quick batch of puff pastry and arriving at the Morgan Building, despite the fact that he wouldn't be able to go back to practice for another week. He stalled at the front door, but he finally hauled himself up the stairs and entered before he could stop himself.

Oliver saw a host of emotions pass over Percy's face. First surprise, then joy, anger, and finally a cool mask of indifference.

"Hello." he greeted coolly. "Do you have practice today?"

Oliver swallowed. "Nope, just came to visit. Since it's been so long, and all." Percy nodded and Oliver let himself in, offering up his food.

Oliver felt a small prick of worry when he noticed how terrible Percy looked. He was thinner than usual, telling Oliver he hadn't been eating much, and he looked like he hadn't been sleeping too well.

The silence sat in the air heavily as Oliver carefully took his usual seat. 

"So, done anything interesting lately?" Oliver asked finally.

Percy swallowed before answering. "Bill's wedding is in a week, so I've been helping out with preparations."

Oliver nodded. That explained the tired look about him. Extra planning, on top of how much Percy already worked, was probably not the best for his health.

There were a few more moments of silence before Oliver spoke again. "So, what type of preparations are you making?"

Percy looked at Oliver like that was the last thing he wanted to be talking about, but started explaining nonetheless.

Soon, Oliver had gotten back into the groove of conversation, and Oliver was laughing and joking along with Percy about what the difference between white and eggshell was exactly and what RSVP stood for anyway.

Oliver felt the worry melt from his chest as they fell back into their familiar routine, happily munching on the light pastry. 

Soon, Percy had devoured nearly all of the pastry and was uncharacteristically relaxed, leaning back in his own chair, fiddling with a pen. They fell silent as they reached a lull in the conversation.

Percy looked suddenly very agonized, and he was glaring down at the pen as if it had stabbed his mother.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked carefully.

Percy looked up and adjusted his glasses, clearing his throat. "Yes, of course. I'm fine."

"Okay, sure." Oliver said, not at all convinced.

Another few moments of Percy staring daggers down at the pen.

"Are you su-"

"You kissed me!" Percy blurted suddenly.

Oliver froze.

The silence sat in the room, suffocating Oliver. 

When he finally managed to look up, he saw that Percy was looking everywhere but him, his eyes darting from his desk, to the door, to his shoelaces.

Finally, Oliver cleared his throat. "I know."

Percy still wasn't looking at him, but Oliver could see the shock on his face.

"What?" his voice broke a little.

"I remember what happened." Oliver said carefully. He realized that he was nearly strangling his fingers, he was squeezing his hand so hard. He released his hand, and exhaled.

"I... lied because I didn't want to make it weird." Oliver felt the irony in his statement, but he figured that it wasn't the time to focus on that.

"Does that mean... you don't want to do it again?" Percy asked.

Oliver's mouth opened in a small  _ o.  _ He licked his lips. "Not necessarily."

Percy finally looked up at Oliver, meeting his eyes. Oliver saw his own unsure hope reflected in Percy's brown eyes.

Finally, Percy stood up, his hands trembling a little as he pushed himself up. Oliver resisted the urge to take Percy's hands in his own.

He walked around the desk, and Oliver felt himself stand up so that they were facing each other. Oliver was surprised to see that Percy was taller than him, just a little. 

Oliver tilted his head up and released a nervous breath.

"Hey." he muttered nervously.

"Hello." Percy breathed back.

Oliver leaned forward suddenly, and pressed his lips onto Percy's.

Percy inhaled sharply and kissed him back.

Oliver leaned into Percy and deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around Percy's thin waist. He felt Percy whimper against him, and smiled a little.

As much as Oliver wanted to stay and kiss Percy forever, it had to end. Finally, they broke apart.

Percy was flushed and his eyes were shining happily. Oliver felt a spark of pride knowing that he'd been the cause of that.

"Hey." Oliver said again.

Percy giggled–giggled!–and whispered "Hello.”

And then they kissed all over again. 


	17. Chapter 17

Percy couldn't help but smile as he held the phone to his ear. It rang, once, twice before finally his mother picked up.

"Percy?" she asked. "I'm a little busy right now, dear." He heard loud voices in the background, but even his siblings arguing in the back couldn't diminish his fabulous mood.

"I just need a moment, Mum." Percy said quickly. "I just want to tell you... I'll be bringing a plus one to the wedding."

Molly's reaction was immediate.  _ "Really?" _ Percy was a little stung that his mother's first reaction was doubt, but he pushed past it.

"Yes, mum. I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't have a problem with the planning."

"Percival Weasley!" she scolded. "Who is it?"

"Oliver." Percy coughed.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Okay, fine, mum. It's Oliver Wood. You were right, okay?"

"Of course I was, dear. Hold on just a moment." Percy heard her move the phone away from herself and yell "Arthur!" 

A few moments later, Percy was on the phone with his father.

"Tell him what you told me, Percy." Molly implored.

Percy cleared his throat, embarrassed. "I'm bringing Oliver to the wedding."

He heard his father sigh disappointedly, and Percy felt a cold fist grip his heart. He'd come out years ago, and his father had been fully supportive, but maybe now that he was actually seeing someone, it was too much for him.

"Dad, this is who I am. If you don't like me seeing another man, that's–"

"Oh, Percy, don't be silly." Arthur cut him off. "I'm just disappointed because I lost a bet with your mother."

It didn't take long for Percy to put the pieces together. "You were betting on… me?"

"Of course, Percy. We do it with all of you." This was Molly, who was speaking to him like he was five again.

"Well, I never!" Percy spluttered. "That's completely unethical! Not to mention, the two of you have the same bank account. The money doesn't even go anywhere!"

"It's more about the idea of it." Molly explained.

Percy was at a loss for words, and he could do nothing but make incoherent noises until finally, his mother said. "Well, this has been fun, but I need to go now. I'll make sure to add Oliver as your plus one. Bye, Percy!"

Percy stared down at the phone, still a little impressed and a lot bit disturbed.

"Done yet?" Oliver asked.

"Wood, don't pretend you weren't eavesdropping." Percy leaned over to smack him in the chest.

"Well, it's kind of hard not to when you're sitting on my lap." Oliver pointed out.

"Semantics." Percy murmured, burying his head in the crook of Oliver's shoulder. He felt the laugh vibrate through him and he couldn't help but smile as well.

They stayed like that for almost twenty minutes, until Oliver finally had to leave, making promises he'd be back soon.


	18. Chapter 18

"I don't understand why you're working on your brother's wedding day." Oliver said, standing in Percy's office. He had a small gift in his hands, all that he'd been able to procure on such short notice. He felt strange, all cleaned up and wearing a suit in Percy's office. 

Still, it was stranger to see Percy at the desk wearing a blue suit and squinting at the computer.

"I don't have to be there until five. Anyway, you don't know where I live, so this was the most logical place to meet."

"Mmmmmmmmm." Oliver murmured. "We should change that."

He grinned as Percy blushed, refusing to meet Oliver's eyes.

"Okay, I'm done." Percy finally announced, standing and grabbing his jacket. 

Oliver straightened and took Percy's arm as they exited the office.

"By the way, Percy." he said. "You look hot."

Oliver grinned as he tugged a stammering Percy out of the office and out into the world.

~

They arrived back at the office hours later, Oliver lugging Percy along with him.

Apparently, Percy couldn't hold his drink at all, a fact which his siblings had neglected to mention until after Percy had ingested 5 glasses of champagne.

Percy had been in no condition to get himself home, so the Weasleys had delegated the task to Oliver.

According to Ginny, it fell under the 'boyfriend duties.' that Oliver had taken on.

Oliver hadn't realized that he was Percy's boyfriend, but his stomach erupted with happy butterflies at the thought.

Oliver's knee throbbed as he finally dropped Percy into the chair, where he muttered something and curled up, ready to sleep.

Oliver simply shrugged and carefully set his jacket on Percy's shoulders, his hand lingering to brush a curl out of his face.

"Good night, Percy."


	19. Chapter 19

Since they'd started dating, Oliver had started visiting Percy more and more at his office until he was coming nearly every day. Percy had wondered, briefly, if Oliver's practices had increased due to the start of the football season but it didn't take him long to realize that Oliver was going out of his way to visit him.

The thought made him smile a little.

"So, I was thinking." Oliver began.

"I'm so proud of you." Percy said, his voice betraying no emotion.

"Jerk." Oliver muttered.  _ "Anyway, _ I was thinking that we should go on a date."

"We are on a date." Percy countered.

Oliver glanced around at the office, with one of its bulbs flickering with the only furniture being his chair and a desk.

"I mean a real date. This doesn't count anymore." Oliver explained. "With dinner, and dancing, and snogging afterwards."

At this, Percy looked up. "What did you have in mind?"

Oliver grinned that cheeky grin that still made Percy's heart tumble, and shook his head. "Oh, no. It'll be a surprise. I'll pick you up at five tonight."

"But I have work to do!" Percy protested. He never left before five.

"Then I guess we won't have time for snogging afterwards." Oliver shrugged, looking at the floor regretfully.

"Five thirty." Percy negotiated.

"Five." Oliver remained adamant.

"Fine, but you have to leave now so I can get some work done." Percy finally conceded.

"Alright, fine. I have to get ready, anyway. I have a hot date tonight." He left with a wink, looking far too pleased in Percy's opinion.

~

He didn't know why he was tucking and untucking his shirt so much. Oliver saw him in his work clothes almost every day. He released a shaky breath before finally settling on tucked in, adjusting his hair as best as he could, trying to calm his nerves.

It wasn't like this was a big deal, right? They'd been dating for almost two months, and friends for even longer. Oliver had met Percy's family, and Percy had met Oliver's roommates. It wasn't like this even mattered that much, really. 

So why were his hands shaking like a coffee addict’s?

At exactly five, there was a knock on the door. Percy smiled. Normally, Oliver had no trouble letting himself in, but this was, after all, a special occasion.

Percy swung open the door and sucked in a breath.

Oliver looked, to put in eloquently, delicious. He was wearing a white shirt with a bright red tie, and neatly pressed slacks. His hair was slicked back and he smelled of cinnamon.

Percy realized he wasn't moving. "You look  _ fabulous.” _ he breathed.

Oliver ducked his head, trying to remain unaffected by the comment. "You look amazing too." he said shyly.  _ Shyly.  _ Percy thought giddily.

Maybe this date thing wouldn't be so bad.


	20. Chapter 20

"Hey Babe." 

Oliver paused at the door frame for a moment, taking Percy in. He was, as usual, working. His glasses were about to fall off his nose, he was so focused on the paper. When he heard Oliver's voice, he looked up a little, a smile spreading across his face.

He pushed it down quickly, trying to give Oliver a apprehensive look. "I told you not to call me that." His words held no conviction, and they both knew it. Still, Oliver nodded.

"Of course. My deepest apologies,  _ Mister Weasley." _

Percy's lips twitched. "There are so many Mister Weasley's. That won't work either."

Oliver sighed. "So picky. What should I call you, then?"

"How about... Percy? You know, my name?"

Oliver shook his head. "No that doesn't sound right. How about... sweetheart?"

"No."

"Honey?"

"No."

"Perce?"

_ "No." _

"All right, all right. Percy is fine, I guess."

Percy said nothing, but Oliver saw the triumphant smile on his face as he looked back down to his work.

Oliver took a seat. "Are you coming to my game tomorrow? We're playing the Harpies."

Oliver saw Percy bite his lip, scanning the papers on his desk. "Yeah, sure." he murmured, still focused on his work.

Oliver sighed. "Are you even paying attention?" 

"Oh, okay. If you say so." Percy nodded a little.

"I'm leaving you for Cedric."

"Absolutely."

"He's much better-looking. And much better at math."

"Yes, of course he did."

"I will be setting your hair on fire now."

"No, I didn't know."

Finally, Oliver simply rolled his eyes and stood up, walking around the desk. He leaned down behind Percy, nestling his head in the crook of his shoulder.

Percy startled, and his pen made an ugly mark on the paper. He hissed out a curse, and his eyes darted around, landing on Oliver's.

"Oliver! You ruined my paper!" he whined.

Oliver grinned. "I'll have to make it up to you." he whispered softly.

He felt Percy's face get hot under his. "Really?" he asked.

Oliver responded with a kiss, pulling Percy up out of his chair.

"How much more work do you have left today?" he asked, pulling away.

"Still a lot." Percy glanced at his desk. "I got a new client. Some Fudge bloke." 

"Okay, I guess we'll have to continue this later. I'll be waiting at your place?"

Oliver didn't wait for an answer before pulling away and slipping out of the office, leaving Percy flushed, his glasses hanging off his face.


	21. Chapter 21

Percy was shaking nervously, the glossy paper in his hand sticking there because of all the sweat. He glanced down at it and felt another pang of doom.

He didn't usually read tabloids (or, as he liked to think of them, trash magazines), but he'd gotten several messages that morning that the Daily Prophet might be of some interest to him that morning.

He hadn't even heard of the magazine before now, and he'd been much happier then.

Percy supposed that it was bound to happen eventually. Ever since Puddlemere's goalkeeper had broken an ankle and Oliver had been brought into the game and made several spectacular saves, he'd been receiving much more media attention. 

It was inevitable that one of the vultures eventually got a photo of Percy with Oliver, they did spend quite a lot of time together.

He'd read the article seven times already, and stared down at the photo so hard his eyes had crossed, but he still didn't really believe it.

Percy tried to clear his thoughts, peeling the glossy newspaper off his hand, and setting it away from him. He wiped his hands on his pants, taking a deep breath in, then out.

In, and out. He repeated it until his thoughts stopped racing and he didn't see the picture burned into his eyelids every time he blinked.

Finally, he turned to his computer. Maybe the regularity and routine of work would help him focus and think about nothing for a little while.

His peace was short lived, as only five minutes later, Oliver burst into the room with his usual adorable grin and endearing energy.

Even though Percy thought he'd collected himself, Oliver's smile dropped as soon as he saw Percy.

"Percy? What's wrong?" 

Percy didn't meet Oliver's eyes as he flipped the magazine over, stabbing the picture with his finger.

Oliver looked down at it and his face fell. "Football Star Wood Spotted With Mysterious Red Haired Gentleman." The picture showed Percy and Oliver walking down the street, Percy giving Oliver a kiss on the cheek.

He remembered the moment vividly. Oliver had never understood Percy's aversion to PDA.

"In private, you have no problem sitting on my lap. But if even one person is there, you have trouble even holding my hand." Percy insisted that he had no such aversion, and Oliver had challenged Percy to kiss him right then and there, insisting that the peck on the cheek Percy had given was cheating. 

Of course, the whole interaction was teasing, but it all felt surreal now.

Oliver sat down, his face losing color rapidly. Percy felt a stab of guilt at making Oliver feel that way.

"Percy, I'm so sorry. I don't know how they caught us, I swear."

Percy nodded. "I know, it's not your fault. I'm just... upset. I don't know..." Percy felt a lump rise in his throat, and blinked his tears away. He knew what he wanted. He wanted the article to unpublish itself, and everyone's mind to forget it, and if Rita Skeeter could take a break from writing forever that would also be good.

But he knew that wasn't going to happen, so he needed to find a way to get as close as possible to that. He took another deep breath, finally meeting Oliver's eyes.

The desk in between them seemed to stretch out for eternity, like his gaze was the only thing holding them together. 

Then, the moment was broken as Ginny Weasley burst through the door. The both turned to look at her, as she strode forward furiously, not that there was really enough space to stride in the tiny office.

She scowled at the tabloid, and snatched it off Percy's desk, tearing it up.

"Percy, don't you dare listen to what that vile woman has to say about you, alright? We both know that none of what she says really matters, and the only people who read that trash are the ones whose opinions don't matter, right?"

Percy nodded, a little taken aback. "Ginny, I'm fine, really. I-" he glanced at Oliver, and Ginny followed his gaze.

She finally realized that she'd interrupted something. She leaned back, looking between the two of them. She looked at Percy, tilting her head a little.

Percy gave her a small nod, telling her he would be okay. She glanced back and forth between the two of them once more before stepping back to the door.

"Call me later, okay?" she implored Percy, and he nodded, watching her long hair disappear through the door.

Oliver stood as soon as the door closed with a click, and walked around to Percy, leaning on the desk, leaving a little space between them.

"Percy, I know you didn't sign up for this, and if you can't... if you don't want to deal with it..." Percy started to see where this was going but he couldn't believe his ears there was no way Oliver would ever...

"I, mean, I understand you value your privacy, and if you... if you want to break up, I understand, because it's only going to get worse, and you don't deserve-"

Percy stood up suddenly, the tears back in his eyes.

"I would  _ never."  _ he hissed. "Do you really think that after three months, I would just give up because of a single, meaningless article?"

Percy felt a surge of anger at Oliver, at Rita Skeeter, at the stupid world. He clenched his fists and glared at Oliver.

"I can't believe you would ever think that, that I would do that to you." he tilted Oliver's head up, forcing him to meet his eyes.

"I would never leave just because of some small thing like that. Okay, Oliver? I would never do that. I–I would never do something like that, because I love you."

Percy knew he should have felt scared, should have felt anxious, but he didn't. He'd known for a long time that he loved Oliver Wood, and he had never loved anyone the way he loved Oliver Wood.

Oliver's eyes went wide, and then his face crumpled into a sob. "I love you too, Percy." he choked out, wrapping Percy's slender frame in a hug.

Percy smiled at the bittersweet moment, at the swooping, soaring feeling in his stomach, cancelled out by the black hole of dread.

For the moment, he just focused on the feeling of Oliver's arms around him.


	22. Chapter 22

Oliver grinned as he walked into Percy’s office for the last time. “Ready?”

Percy hefted the box off the floor and glanced around, his eyes snagging on the corners for hidden items. “I think so.”

Oliver picked up a box of his own. “Let’s go then?”

Percy nodded. “Let’s go.”

And they strode, for the very last time, from Percy’s office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to write a proposal chapter, but I really couldn’t see it happening in the office, so I had to skip it :(  
> Anyway, this is it for this fic. Hope you enjoyed it!


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